India look to make mark at Asia Rugby U18 Sevens Championship

The Indian Rugby U/18 teams are all set to compete for the coveted annual Asia Rugby U/18 Sevens Championship held in Kathmandu, Nepal starting on Sunday.

The tournament is organized by Asia Rugby and it is the first time that the U18 Indian boys' team is participating in an event of this stature.

"After the pandemic, 2022 has been the year every rugby playing Asian country has waited for. It has been a very good year for Indian rugby with our senior Women, and our U20 Women garnering silver in their respective Asian tournaments. The girls have already competed at this level and secured the silver last time - we are all looking to better that, and for the boys who have not yet gotten a chance, this is their shot to put the team on the Asian map. I wish both teams the very best - play hard, play happy!" said Rahul Bose, President of Rugby India as the team departed.

In preparation for this tournament, a national camp was held for both teams at Balewadi, Pune, in the month of November. The objective of the camp was to facilitate a high-performance program directed towards the holistic development of IRFU Players, enabling them to raise the bar at the Asia Rugby Level.

The girl's team won the silver in the last event held in Uzbekistan and are looking forward to changing the colour of the medal this time around. The girls and boys team are currently placed within the top 10 in Asia out of 34 playing countries. This tournament will give the youth teams an opportunity to move up the ranks on an Asia level.

Eight countries from across the world will participate in the Under-18 boy's category and five nations in the girl's category will fight for the top spot.

The Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the sole governing body for the sport of Rugby in India. The IRFU, responsible for the growth and development of the sport of Rugby across the country, is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India and is a full member of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) and World Rugby.

( With inputs from ANI )